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24 May 2018

Love Soap (2017 Edition)

One of the aspects of Lush that I find the most confusing, is when they release a product under the same name as a previous product, yet it bares little or no resemblance to the original in any way. While I recognise the need to improve and redesign at times - to cater for the current market as well as infuse a little excitement back into a stale product (see the Bubbleroons for a good example), I feel almost cheated when I discover that an item is far-removed from what it once was.Love Soap has appeared as many guises over the years - appearing in a few Valentine's Day releases as well as being produced in limited amounts to raise money for certain causes. Most recently, Love Soap made what I think was its greatest comeback: in 2015 it was sold using the hashtag 'gayisokay', to raise awareness and show appreciation for the LGBT community.This time around it comes sporting the design that most people would probably say is the most obvious, and quite possibly the least inspired: a beautiful heart-shaped block with a brushing of golden lustre across the surface. And while I used the word 'block' to describe this limited edition, it is probably much like a 'piece' as the soap is rather on the small size. While my hands may be super large for the average female, Love Soap fits easily into the palm of my hand - where there is also plenty of room left.Sharing its scent with Sex Bomb, this soap is certainly not in any way fruity, despite the colour of the soap suggesting that this is the case. Containing a collaboration of jasmine and ylang ylang, this limited edition is as sweet as it is floral. This is definitely one for the jasmine fans as the flower's naturally uplifting and rather euphoric aroma makes itself known immediately - creating an intoxicating blend of floral notes that smell fresh and grounded at the same time. The ylang ylang extends the floral smell further by adding in a little muskiness to dampen and ground the resinous properties of the jasmine, so what you get is something that smells very gentle but equally very compact. Finally, the clary sage oil deepens the smell with its musty, earthy undertones. It is this element that makes it such a sensual-smelling soap, and the ingredient that I think prevents the jasmine from being as narcotic and as heady as it normally is by itself. Love Soap is definitely as sexy and as sensual as Sex Bomb Bath Bomb. However, I feel as if it has lost the powdery notes that give the bath bomb that delicate prettiness. While the bath bomb is certainly not one of my favourites, I like the way that the three key ingredients create an almost dusty fragrance that brings out the sensual nature of the jasmine and ylang ylang. This is somewhat missing in this format, and this is a shame.Having said that, the soap lathers up really quickly and produces a generous amount of thick, fragrant foam to wash yourself with. In fact, it was the size of the soap that helped to make it so easy to lather up as I was able to grip it in my hand so much easier. Despite the amount of lather it produced, I was impressed to find that the soap didn't shrink very quickly at all and one piece lasted me a good three months with daily usage.As with most soaps, it left my skin feeling super crisp and clean - especially in between my fingers for some strange reason. I did have to moisturise afterwards, as it's not the most nourishing of soaps, but this is be expected as it doesn't have the softening properties of a shower gel or cream. What I will say about the glitter is that it will come off within the first two uses, and you might find the odd sparkle on your skin but the majority washes away with the running water. If you're someone who is deterred because of the golden lustre, you can always rinse the soap under the tap to begin with and remove the lustre before you begin using this on your skin.Overall, if you're a fan of sweet, floral smells, or you just want to extend your love of Sex Bomb, this is soap is for you. The scent is definitely on par with the bath bomb, there are just subtle differences, mostly due to the format change more than anything. This is not something that I would buy again, only because I'm not a huge fan of this fragrance, but I cannot fault the effectiveness of the soap at all.